C.H. Robinson beats quarterly profit estimates as cost controls offset weak freight demand

Jan 28 (Reuters) - C.H. Robinson CHRW.O reported fourth-quarter profit above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, as cost controls helped the global freight forwarder dampen the impact of weak demand in a challenging global trade environment.

Shares of the company rose 6.3% in aftermarket trading.

The largest U.S. freight broker reported a 5% fall in operating expenses for the quarter, while personnel expenses and other selling, general and administrative costs also declined about 5% each. Its average employee headcount declined 12.9% in the fourth quarter.

C.H. Robinson has increasingly turned to artificial intelligence for routine functions such as pricing shipments, coordinating pickups and deliveries, and monitoring cargo in transit, helping streamline operations and reduce manual processes. The shift comes as the U.S. freight market grapples with muted shipment volumes and excess capacity, which are weighing on rates and pressuring logistics companies to rein in costs.

"The fourth quarter certainly provided a challenging macro environment, with weak global freight demand, rising spot costs in trucking and falling ocean rates all providing headwinds to our business," CEO Dave Bozeman said.

The company's Global Forwarding unit, which includes its freight forwarding business, posted a 17.3% slump in quarterly revenue to $730.98 million.

Its total revenue fell 6.5% to $3.9 billion, further weighed down by the divestiture of its Europe Surface Transportation business, besides lower pricing and volumes in ocean and truckload services.

However, cost controls helped the company post an adjusted profit for the quarter of $1.23 per share, beating analysts' estimate of $1.12 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.